Health Administrators around the nation are growing increasingly concerned because cases of M.R.S.A. and other Staph infections are showing up in schools.
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The Eau Claire City-County Health Department says there have been no cases reported here but it's still something they're concerned about.
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The Centers for Disease Control says more than 90,000 Americans are infected by the bacteria each year. Health experts say M.R.S.A. can be dangerous because it's resistant to certain antibiotics like penicillin and the most serious types could be deadly. In fact, a student in Virginia died from it on Monday.
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Health professionals say that should serve as a reminder to be extra careful.
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"Cover wounds and use bandages and don't touch the bandages of other people's wounds. We need to clean our hands. Use real good hand washings. Don't share personal items things like towel or razors," said Eau Claire City-County Health Director of Nurses Kitty Rahl.
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Rahl says M.R.S.A spreads by skin to skin contact or sharing an item used by an infected person. She says Staph is a bacterium that lives in our noses and skin and usually doesn't cause problems for healthy people with strong immune systems.
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A new report shows most M.R.S.A. infections are associated with health care facilities like hospitals, dialysis centers, and even nursing homes.
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Joey Pettis, Director of Nursing at Dove Healthcare Nursing and Rehabilitation in Eau Claire, said they deal with the strain everyday.
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Pettis said it doesn't cause any problems for many people, while others have active infections but Pettis says health care workers always take special precautions to prevent any spread.
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"Whenever we take care of someone we're going to wear gloves or wear protective gowns to protect the residents as well as us from having some type of infective material on our hands and clothing," she said.
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Pettis says if the infection is a serious one--the person would be isolated. She says they track any resident who's had M.R.S.A for precautions.
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Pettis and Rahl say M.R.S.A.'s anti-biotic resistance could be linked to Americans taking too many antibiotics.